Beautiful music is the soothing healer of stress. I remember singing the Randall Thompson Alleluia with a church choir. The choir resisted learning the soulful music, sung acapella because “alleluia” is the only word in the composition with “amen” on the final note. The composer mindful of the war in 1940 wrote the piece reflecting the book of Job, “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” The choir director persevered. We performed the music. The hall was silent, and we were muted as well. Collectively, we felt the proverbial goose bumps. The emotional impact had struck deeply into our hearts. We were moved.

My favorite place is sitting in front of my easel before a blank canvas waiting for me to fill it with what I see in my minds’ eye. It is a great opportunity to lose myself in a creative endeavor.